Celebrity White Carpet

I’m getting psyched up for ski season. Passes are being picked up, equipment is getting sorted and tuned. Simply put, I’m counting down the minutes until opening weekend—and Celebrity Ski Fest, which is my favorite “White Carpet” event. Each year, celebrities gather at the top of this course, on Birdseye ski run, and race each other as part of a gala weekend in support of the Waterkeepers Alliance.

Last year, I got to hang out in the sunshine with some of my favorite peeps, after crushing a bunch of runs with my family.

For one, I caught up with Summer Sanders—we met and worked together in New York City, before either of us called Park City home. Even though we share a small hometown now, with our crazy schedules even five minutes carved out of a cool event has to count as hanging out.

I may or may not have challenged her to a race. (For this year. Gulp.)

Next, I caught up with Phil and Steve Mahre. If you had told me as a kid that I’d be hanging with these two legends every year, I’d have told you that you were nuts. What can I say? I’m wrong, sometimes.

Then, I bumped into Camryn Mannheim, who was sporting a helmet, specially blinged out—dare I say, besparkled—by Swarovski. She couldn’t say enough about how much she loves coming to Deer Valley every year to support the Waterkeepers Alliance.

And for as much action that happens on the racecourse, there is even more fun to be had inside. I got to catch up with Heidi Voelker and pose with Camryn Mannheim and JB Smoove, before we all dove into the amazing buffet lunch (think: Deer Valley’s famous Turkey Chili, plus a giant, gorgeous salad, a carving station, and yes, plenty of those amazing Deer Valley chocolate chip cookies.

Truly, though, the highlight of my Skifest is the same, every year: catching up with Rob Morrow, Debbon Ayer and their daughter, Tu. It was Tu who first busted me for shopping in the children’s department when we showed up to SkiFest several years ago, wearing identical brown plaid ski pants. She’s grown up from a little kid cheering at the bottom of the course, into a competitor in the race—and you can’t help but be charmed by a child who says she’s less concerned with winning than with getting out there and having fun.

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